The present invention relates to a data processing device and, in one form, to a data processing device for providing data related to the types of services and applicable discounts available at selected locations in response to user input. The device is preferably hand-held and may be used within a system wherein a corresponding device is located at each service for interfacing with the hand-held device to monitor and control usage of discounts at the services. For applications involving large volumes of data, the data is stored and retrieved in a compressed form in the hand-held device and then expanded for display in a user-readable form.
To determine what types of services and discounts are available in a location along a highway, for example, one has to either depend upon billboards along the highway or leave the highway in order to locate a specific type of service. It is not unusual that a motorist may leave the highway in an attempt to locate a particular gas station or food store only to find out later that a similar station or store was only a few miles down the highway. Additionally, maps are used to locate various types of services. However, the maps may be out of date or at best contain only limited information concerning the types of services available along the highway, are often unwieldy and are often difficult to read.
Various devices have been developed which provide information relating to services available along a highway. However, these devices require different interchangeable ROM (read only memory) packs or modules be used for either different highways or different states and most do not provide discount information. Further, since these devices are organized by highways or states, it is difficult to determine the nearest service to a border area or major intersection without frequently changing modules. This is because such devices are unable to identify services across borders. It would be advantageous to have a device which did not require separate modules to store information and changing modules when information concerning a different highway is required or when a motorist reaches a state border.
In addition to locating a service, there is also the question whether the service offers a discount coupon. Coupon books are commonly found; however, it is often difficult to locate a particular coupon for a particular service at the time of purchase. A coupon for a small business or chain franchise location is often lost among the myriad of available coupons. There is a need for a device which allows a particular coupon in a coupon book or collection of randomly sequenced coupons to be directly accessed through the user's location or through identification of a selected service so that a coupon for the selected service is highlighted to the user. Such a device could change the dynamics of the marketing decision as to whether it is economical for a small business to offer a discount in a coupon book. There is also a need for electronic storage of coupon data as a discount which can be retrieved and displayed at a selected service so that all of the usual paperwork and searching for paper coupons involved in presenting coupons for purchases is eliminated.
In addition to discount and service information, there are many situations where large volumes of data must be routinely accessed. Such applications include the data in a telephone book or encyclopedia and the vast data available relating to travel information, scientific information, manufacturing processes, service parts information, repair procedures, literature, geography, history, cultures, foreign languages, and the like. It would be advantageous to have a hand-held device which could store and retrieve large volumes of data quickly without the need for separate memory modules.